Oscilloscope images of tig welders

[MCTig]

Do you follow scanner danner?

I wasn't aware of him but quickly found him on youtube. I checked one video at random that looked like it would be about automotive electronics and found him pulling plug wires off the coils on a running engine to check for spark. That's a great way to ruin a coil since if the HV can't get to the plug a weak point in the internal insulation will feel the full brunt of the max. voltage the coil generates. If it arcs through and a carbon track develops an otherwise-good coil has been unnecessarily turned into toast. Even if it doesn't kill the coil immediately it further weakens the weak insulation, seeding the path to a premature death.

So, how should he have tested the coils? A battery-powered digital oscilloscope with an inductive probe around the wires would have been the way to do it, taking almost no more time to test the coils properly than pulling the plug wires. Plus, the oscilloscope gives useful diagnostic information in addition to just spark/no spark. There may be good stuff in his other videos but I won't be spending the time to watch them to find out.

[Simclardy]

I wasn't aware of him but quickly found him on youtube. I checked one video at random that looked like it would be about automotive electronics and found him pulling plug wires off the coils on a running engine to check for spark. That's a great way to ruin a coil since if the HV can't get to the plug a weak point in the internal insulation will feel the full brunt of the max. voltage the coil generates. If it arcs through and a carbon track develops an otherwise-good coil has been unnecessarily turned into toast. Even if it doesn't kill the coil immediately it further weakens the weak insulation, seeding the path to a premature death.

So, how should he have tested the coils? A battery-powered digital oscilloscope with an inductive probe around the wires would have been the way to do it, taking almost no more time to test the coils properly than pulling the plug wires. Plus, the oscilloscope gives useful diagnostic information in addition to just spark/no spark. There may be good stuff in his other videos but I won't be spending the time to watch them to find out.

Not sure which video you watched, but that does not sound right. When he does pull plugs he will hold an incandescent tester to give the spark a safe path. He is an instructor at rosdale tech and is all about proper diagnosis. You will be hard pressed to find anyone with as much information and detail as scanner danner when it comes to scopes and engine diagnostics.
If you do let me know.




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[MCTig]

Not sure which video you watched, but that does not sound right. When he does pull plugs he will hold an incandescent tester to give the spark a safe path. He is an instructor at rosdale tech and is all about proper diagnosis.

He has a lot videos and I just picked one at random so I can't tell you which one it was. But, he definitely didn't give the spark any alternative but to try to escape through the insulation of the coil. I didn't realize he was an instructor. That makes what he did even worse.

[Simclardy]

He has a lot videos and I just picked one at random so I can't tell you which one it was. But, he definitely didn't give the spark any alternative but to try to escape through the insulation of the coil. I didn't realize he was an instructor. That makes what he did even worse.

I never saw him do something like that so i can't comment on what you saw. But i agree that you should never pull a plug on a waste spark system and hope for the best. The super high voltage will cause problems when seeking its path.


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[Simclardy]

I just ordered a new open box dynasty 210dx. I can't wait to post images from my scope!

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[Simclardy]

This is the dynasty 210dx.
200hz
75% balance
30amps
Advanced wave
Blue line is amps
Yellow volts


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[Simclardy]

This is the dynasty 210dx.
200hz
75% balance
30amps
Soft wave
Blue line is amps
Yellow volts

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[Simclardy]

This is the dynasty 210dx.
200hz
75% balance
30amps
Sine wave
Blue line is amps
Yellow volts

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[Simclardy]

This is the dynasty 210dx.
200hz
75% balance
30amps
Triangle wave
Blue line is amps
Yellow volts

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[Simclardy]

So my observations:
1. The cleaning action (positive side) is not effected by the wave selection
2. The amperage does not overshoot as bad as the everlast
3. The reaction time of the scr or igbt, whatever miller uses is almost twice as fast as the everlast and appears to be much more stable or consistent (compared photo below to everlast image to see the frequency of oscillations)
4. The beads i stacked are the first out of the box. Too excited to clean. Mostly 75 balance, a couple with 80% balance.
I thought it was smoother than the everlast.
I have not pushed the low amperage limits yet and that is where i expect the biggest difference.
5. The stick welding was noticeably smooth compared to what i have been using.


Conclusion: i like to buy quality tools but i don't like paying for a name brand.
If the name brand happens to delivers a better product in an ethical way i consider the extra cost worth it. I see the R&D that miller has published on the web along with lincoln and i notice. Every time i call miller with technical questions i get a very knowledgeable tech within minutes, i notice. I have used some of Miller's products and i notice a difference.
I purchased the wireless foot pedal for $700 and thought about the expansion card for $500 and damn it miller i notice. Lol

I will just add that i don't trust bean counters and i have seen many good companies erode their quality and ethics for profitability. Miller is not immune from temptation, so i hope they never become just a "name"
Cheers and happy new year!

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[Tillerdemon]

Do you have any pictures of how you connected your oscilloscope to the welder?

[Simclardy]

Do you have any pictures of how you connected your oscilloscope to the welder?

I don't, but it was nothing special other than the probes. I used a differential probe that is rated up to 7000volts and a fluke clamp meter. The clamp just clips around the wire, and the differential was attached at the output of the machine. The ck connector has covers that icon remove making it easy to attach.

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[ccawgc]

Looking at welder output wave forms are easy if you have a welder load bank.
or make your own using heater coils. Only thing you have to do is make sure the HF arc starter is turned off or disabled. with the new maxstar and dynasty welders you may have to unplug the HF pcb. Then connect the o-scope to the weld terminals just like you would a volt meter. OCV is around 80volts. Trying to make any measurements of a TIG welder weld voltage can kill the digital meter if the HF is not turned off.